The Long Journey
by Criann Onasi
Summary: Synopsis: Follows the basic plotline of KOTOR I but with my interpretation of events. (Female Revan) -Chapter 1 revised-
1. Chapter 1: Rough landing

Synopsis: Follows the basic plotline of KOTOR I but with my interpretation of events. (Female Revan)

_**The Long Journey**_

**Chapter 1: Rough landing**

The first thing I felt when I opened my eyes was dizziness followed by a hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach. I couldn't tell whether I was hungry or ready to vomit or both. I rose to stand up but the ground beneath me started to move or perhaps it was just me that was spinning and before I knew it I was falling down.

"Hey, easy there," a male voice broke through the haziness of my thoughts. I felt his strong grip around my abdomen and the world began to stabilize again. I held onto him while the dizziness slowly went away and I could finally think straight and not feel like I had just been run over by a swoop bike. "You okay? Feel ready to stand up?"

I nodded. The dizziness had passed but still a painful migraine remained. My head ached and I felt like taking a blaster and blowing a hole through it.

"Here, take some of this. It'll help with the pain," he said and tossed me a needle. I caught it and jammed it quickly into my leg and with a brief hiss the medicine began doing its work coursing through my bloodstream clearing away all my aches and pains.

"Thank goodness you're finally awake. I thought you might hurt yourself in your sleep with the way you were thrashing about. It must have been one hell of a nightmare," he said and stuck his hand out. "The name's Carth. Carth Onasi. We met on the Endar Spire right before it exploded. Any of this coming back?"

I must have had a confused look on my face. Of course I remembered what had happened. Why wouldn't I? How could I not? It sure was a great way to start my first day on the ship. I had recently been transferred to the Endar Spire. Why they wanted to hire the likes of me I didn't have time to find out before all the chaos started. I was supposed to be briefed that morning when the Sith launched a surprise attack. And the rest well...

"Where...where am I?" I asked as I took his hand into a light shake. To me it was an awkward moment. He was a stranger. I didn't know anything about him and he must be thinking the same thing if he was any good of a soldier. To say the least my defenses were on high alert.

"I can understand with that bump on the head you must be pretty confused. Last time you were awake we were on an escape pod heading down to Taris. It was a pretty rough landing, sorry about that. You got pretty banged up. Luckily I wasn't too hurt and I managed to pull both of us out of there and into this abandoned apartment before the Sith guards found us," he patiently explained.

The landing part I actually couldn't remember but everything before that was pretty clear for the most part.

"I suppose I owe you a thank you for saving my life," I said and he shrugged.

"You would have done the same if roles were reversed. Besides I've never left a soldier behind and I'm not about to start doing that now," he said. I nodded along just to keep the relationship between us on friendly terms. To be honest, I didn't know what I would have done in that situation. It probably would have been easier to escape the Sith if they found someone inside the escape pod since they had no way of knowing how many members were inside. That would ensure my safety at the cost of his life.

But such decisions were not mine to make and I decided to let the matter rest. There would be more incidents in the future that would tell me what kind of person I was to become, I felt certain of that.

"You've been slipping in and out of consciousness for a couple of days. There were times I thought you wouldn't make it but I'm glad to see that you're finally up again. I've been scouting the planet and from what I heard there is a report of another crashed escape pod down in the Undercity. We should start our search there for Bastila then find a way off this planet. The sith have quarantined the planet so right now no ships can enter or leave without their permission and they are not giving permission to anyone but their own troops."

"Bastila is a Jedi, right?" I asked. "Can't she take care of herself? Why do I have to risk my life for her?"

"Hey, we're all in this together," said Carth, his voice rising in anger. "Like I said before the whole planet is under a sith quarantine. Even if Bastila is safe she's still going to need our help getting off this planet. She's not just a Jedi. She has a unique ability called Battle Meditation, it's the key to the whole Republic war effort. Without her this war might already be over. Besides you work for the Republic just like me, so you better make good on your oath to do whatever is necessary to save the Republic."

"Fine, if it means getting off this planet, but don't think I'm letting my guard down for a second," I said with a bit of a tone myself.

"Just in case you haven't noticed, we are on the same side," said Carth. "And what are you trying to say, that you don't trust me?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. I don't know anything about you. Why should I trust you?" I asked him.

"I could said the same about you? At least my past isn't shady like yours," he said.

"Shady?" I blew up.

"Yes, shady," he explained. "You're a newly recruited scout who've explored many more planets than I've ever seen and ever will see probably and you can speak many different alien dialects. Now that's one hell of a track record for a raw recruit. And you get transferred to a lead ship like the Endar Spire right before it came under attack by a sith ambush. And you and I are the last surviving crew members of the ship. This sounds all pretty suspicious to me, don't you think?"

"Are you trying to accuse me of something? Because if you are just come out and say it to my face," I said angrily.

Suddenly his anger disappeared replaced by a look of worry. "No, of course not. I mean I know you had nothing to do with the ambush, it's just...I'm just angry with myself right now. I don't mean to take it out on you."

His quick turnaround took me completely by surprise and I felt the anger leave me too. "I don't know why I was assigned to the Endar Spire. They were supposed to brief me the morning of the attack. I guess we're both on edge, though it's not surprising after what we've been through."

"So how about a truce?" he asked and I agreed. "Let's start over. I'm Carth Onasi, a Republic soldier and pilot of the Endar Spire."

"Criann Skye. Nice to meet you."

As I soon learned from Carth the planet we were currently stranded on was Taris, a huge metropolitan city of a planet. Tall high rises covered the entire surface of the planet and it was divided vertically with the rich on top and the poor on the bottom. Its glory days were long gone and replaced with hatred and violence between clashing cultures and economic statures. The short version of it, the planet was full of oppression.

The Undercity where a second escape pod was reported to have been seen was the lowest of the low. Criminals, gang members, and unsavory characters lurked down there where no one in the Upper areas could see them. There were only a few ways down and all were guarded by the sith.

"We can stock up on supplies in the Upper City well enough," explained Carth. Most likely we would run into some fights down in the Undercity. We needed some armor and weapons and medpacs.

"I know you're a scout not a soldier but I'm going to need your help if we're going to find Bastila," he said, and by help he meant fighting.

"I know how to handle a blaster good enough," I told him and that seemed to reassure him and the matter was dropped.

We began to explore the Uppercity and if you just ignored all the sith troops walking around it would seem like any other normal day. There were merchants running back and forth doing errands of some kind and patrons going to the cantinas or other places of business. It was as if there was no war going on. But like Carth explained, this was the nice part of Taris. I wasn't looking forward to seeing the 'other side' of things.

The prices were decent although many of the shops were understocked. With the sith blockade it was difficult to get any shipments in or out. Trade was basically nonexistent unless you were with the Sith. The troops on the planet were constantly getting restock with various weapons and armor. So we had to make do with what we could get which wasn't much, couple of blaster pistols, rifles, and two combat armors.

We were directed by a local business woman to the Medical Center on the West side of Uppercity. The doctor there gave out free healing to any that needed it. I made a note of that location on my data map for future use.

Gathering supplies took up a great deal of the afternoon and we decided to take up the search again the next morning. But for now we stopped at the local cantina for a drink and some dinner.

"I'd like to know some more about you, Carth," I said. "If you don't mind." I looked down at the food that the server brought to us and frowned. But I supposed it was better than starving so I made the best of it and tried to swallow it down and minimized on the chewing.

"Well, I'm a star pilot of the Republic Fleet. Before this I fought in the Mandalorian Wars but they were nothing compared to the destruction of the Sith. The Sith would wipe out an entire planet just to..." he broke off. I could tell the subject was painful to him. I didn't want to pry but my curiosity got the best of me. "My homeworld, Telos, was attacked. They bombarded the whole planet and we...I arrived too late to do anything about it except clean up the mess they left behind. Millions of innocent people died in that attack and for what?"

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said, my pathetic attempt at trying to be sympathetic. But I couldn't feel his pain. I didn't know what it would be like to lose a planet let alone your home planet.

"The Sith are ruthless and I would do anything to stop them. If only...if I had gotten there earlier maybe..."

"Maybe what?" I asked. "What could you have done against the entire Sith battle fleet?"

"I don't know," he said getting belligerent. "I could have saved them, it's my fault that...I mean the Sith...I could have done something. If I had been there earlier I know I could have made a difference."

"Do you really believe that?" I asked. Looking into the past and blaming yourself would not solve anything, that much I knew. "Come on, Carth. You're a soldier. Would one more ship really make a difference against the Sith onslaught? You would still have been outnumbered and outgunned."

He sighed. "I guess you're right. I just have a hard time accepting my past."

"It's not your fault," I said. "Stop blaming yourself. It's not doing anybody any good."

"Easier said than done," said Carth. "Well, enough talking about me. I don't like to talk about my past much, actually I never talk about my past."

"I guess that makes me special then," I smiled. He smiled back.

"It just means I have to watch you more carefully," he said. He took a sip of ale probably to drown out the awful flavor of whatever kind of meat this was. Neither of us seemed to have much of an appetite since both our plates were still half full.

"Hey, I'm all for guys staring at me so watch all you want," I said perhaps with too much ale inside me.

He laughed. "I can't say my eyes are complaining...much."

"What?" I protested lightly. We ordered one more round of drinks then decided to call it a night.

The walk back to the apartment was...interesting to say the least. But we made it back safe and sound which was all that mattered.

And that's when I noticed the problem. "Hmm. There's only one bed."

He turned around and looked. "Oh, dammit. You're right. Ah, I guess I can sleep on the floor. You can take the bed."

I looked down at the floor. It was just cement and it was not a pretty sight. "I don't think the ground is an option here," I said as I stepped in some black, unidentifiable goo. I stumbled backwards, my balance was a little off that night. "Look, the bed is big enough for both of us. We're grown adults. I think we can handle sharing a bed," I tried to say that calmly but it came out a bit louder than I wanted. I wouldn't say I was drunk but it was close.

He hesitated whether because he was thinking or because the ale was slowing his mind I couldn't tell, not in the state I was in. "I guess you're right," he finally said after staring at the ground for a good two minutes.

Normally I would have felt uncomfortable sharing a bed with a man I barely knew but we were both not quite sober so sleep came to us quickly and before we knew it the sun was up. Actually it'd been up for several hours. We slept in late.

"Good morning, sleepyhead. Had a good night's rest?" asked Carth, who was sitting in a nearby couch. He tried to put on a cheerful smile but I knew he was feeling the same thing I was.

Hangover.

I groaned.

"Maybe we should stop by the medical center before heading on down," he suggested. That was a good idea.

"I have a feeling this is going to be a long day," said Carth.

**A/N: This is a revised chapter. Whether I will go back and touch up on it even more remains to be seen. Feedback is appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2: Big rescues

**Chapter 2: Big rescues**

"Hey, Big Z, are you still eating? I want to get to the sewers before bedtime," said the Twi'lek.

"I'm still hungry," the big Wookiee roared.

"Come on. This is like your fifth dish. I think you had enough. Let's get going already."

The Wookiee looked at his food with a longing stare then got up to join his young, impatient friend.

"Finally. I thought you were going to sit there forever," said the young Twi'lek.

"I wasn't the one who got up late today," the Wookiee roared back.

"Okay, okay. You got a point," she said. "I just hope all the good stuff haven't been taken yet." She was talking about the Republic escape pods of course. That was the only exciting news to hit Taris since the Sith quarantine and she had been itching for an adventure. The quarantine basically brought the planet to a halt. The air everywhere was so thick with despair you could cut it with a vibrosword.

After a few hours of searching the sewers they decided to take a little break.

"Oh, Big Z, you need a shower bad."

"No, Mission. You know Wookiees do not take showers," commented Zaalbar.

She frowned and scooted upwind of him. "I don't see why not. It doesn't hurt or anything."

"It's just not our way," he said and left it at that.

"Pfft, yuck Big Z. You need a bath big time. You're smelling worse than usual. I can't even breathe near you anymore," she said holding her nose and facing away from him.

"It's not me," he whined. "Something is coming this way."

"Huh?" she looked up and around.

Suddenly four ugly Gammoreans showed up with blasters in hand. They began shouting and waving their weapons and before Mission could do anything Big Z threw himself on top of two of them.

"Run!" he roared to Mission who was still stunned. Couple of shots fired but most of them hit the sewer walls. Mission started running and didn't stop for a long while.

With the help of Gadon we made it to the Undercity and now we were in the sewers sloshing around trying to find a young Twi'lek and her Wookiee friend.

"This smells worse than bantha fodder," I remarked trying to breathe every other breath.

"Obviously you've never smelled bantha fodder, otherwise you wouldn't be saying that. This is pleasant compared to—"

"You've got to be kidding me! I can't imagine anything worse than this," I said looking around at the damp, stinky place. "Are you sure?" I questioned.

"Yup. Next time we run into one I'll be sure to point it out for you to smell," he said jokingly.

"I'll pass, thanks."

The light conversation stalled as we went through one pipe into another possibly getting ourselves lost. I imagined being stuck down here for weeks with nothing to eat but rats and rakghouls, maybe even turning into a rakghoul ourselves. I gave him an evil eye while he was not looking making a mental note to myself to eat him first before he eats me if that scenario ever happened.

I was almost ready to give up when we ran into a Twi'lek.

"You have to help me. My friend, he was captured by some Gammoreans and I'm afraid they're going to sell him to slavery. Please will you help me rescue him?" she asked.

I looked over at Carth. He shrugged.

"We really need to hurry if we're going to rescue Bastila, but it's up to you," he said.

"That name sounds familiar. Hey, she doesn't have anything to do with those Republic space pods does she? I think the Black Vulkars found someone from the wreckage and now they're holding her hostage inside their base. Look, if you help me find my friend I'll get you inside their base. I know a back way in," she said.

I thought about it for a minute and then agreed. It'd be better to try to sneak her out then to make a big incident out of it.

Her friend wasn't that far away as it turned out and the Gammoreans were no match for the three of us and our blasters.

"Big Z! I'm so glad you're okay! How are you doing? Did they hurt you?" asked Mission.

"I'm fine. Who are the people with you?" he roared.

"They helped me get you out," she explained.

"Thank you. I owe you my life," said the Wookie.

"No problem," I said back in his language then switched to Basic. "Now let's get out of here. Take us to the Vulkar Base then you can go wherever you want."

"All right. You know how to speak the language. I've never met anyone like you before that could do that. That's pretty cool," said the little Twi'lek.

I shrugged. I knew many languages. The Wookie was surprised also.

"Looks like you've got yourself a couple of fans," remarked Carth. I rolled my eyes at him.

Finally we were on our way. Mission was pretty handy when it came to breaking security codes. Where a kid learned to do that I could only imagine. I wondered why she was down here, why she was on this planet with just a Wookie by her side. Where were her parents? Did she even have any? But those questions would have to wait until after we rescue the Jedi and get ourselves off this planet.

We managed to sneak into the base. It seemed most of the gang members were partying in another room. We snuck up to the cell rooms unnoticed. Bastila was inside but she was trapped behind an energy field.

"I got that," said Mission as she hacked into their computer system. Soon the field was deactivated. Now introductions were in order.

"Carth! I'm glad to see you alive. And who are your companions?" she asked in a snooty accent. Well I thought her accent sounded snooty at any rate.

"I'm Mission and this big guy here is Zaalbar," she said.

"My name is Criann Skye. I was on the Endar Spire," I said but for some reason I felt funny doing so.

"Oh, right. You must be the new transfer. Well, I'm glad you survived also. If we're done here I think it's time we headed out of here before they realize what happened," said Bastila and she proceeded to take the lead. The group followed silently.

By the time we reached our hideout it was decided that Mission and Zaalbar would travel with us at least as far as getting off this planet. What they would do after that I didn't know and didn't ask.

"So what's the plan for getting off this planet?" asked Bastila putting her hand on her hip.

"We don't have any. Our first priority was rescuing you," I said although with that attitude of hers I wouldn't have minded just leaving her trapped down there.

She let out a haughty sigh. "I suppose I will have to figure it out myself."

"Watch the attitude there," I blurted out, sick of her poor manners.

"Excuse me? How dare you talk to me that way? I'm the commanding officer here unless you're forgetting. I give out the orders, is that understood?" she said proudly.

"Calm down you two," interjected Carth. "Bastila, you are not showing good leadership here. A good leader does not berate her troops. Let's just drop the titles and work together to figure out a way off of Taris. Please?"

"I suppose you're right. I'm sorry. I can be a little headstrong sometimes," she said although it didn't sound like much of an apology to me.

"A little?" I muttered under my breath.

"Watch it," Carth whispered to me. "Now that is settled, let's get back to business," he said in a normal voice.

We hit the local cantinas again. Before we could start investigating someone approached us. He introduced himself as Canderous Ordo.

"I saw you in the dueling ring. It was impressive," he remarked. I had entered the duels before rescuing Bastila to earn us some credits. Carth had advised against it but I couldn't see any other way to make a quick buck. It seemed it worked out better for us in the end than I ever thought.

"I think you're just the person to help me...with a little problem," he began in a gruff voice. By the scars on his face you could tell he'd been in many battles and won them all. "I know a way off this blasted planet. Davik has a ship called the Ebon Hawk. Fastest ship on this side of the galaxy. We could easily outrun those Sith troopers."

"It seems you have all your bases covered. What do you need us for?" I asked.

"Should we really be talking to this guy? I mean how do we know we can trust him?" asked Carth, suspicious as usual. His tone seemed more hostile than normal.

"Hey, I'm not talking to you Republic. I was talking to your pretty friend here," he said.

I think I blushed a little when he said that. I wasn't used to compliments at all. Carth remained unusually silent. "He has a point though. How do we know this isn't a trap," I said.

"Hey, I said I knew a way out of here. I never said it was going to be easy," he explained. Apparently this Exchange member had top-notch security around his beloved ship. He needed us to be the extra firepower to overtake the guards.

"And what's to prevent you from turning around and shooting back at us?" asked Carth. I could see his hand fiddling with his blaster.

"Because I said so. It's a little thing called honor, something you know nothing about it seems. I admire you," he said turning back to me. "You're a great warrior. You'd be even greater had you been born a Mandalorian but no one can be perfect. You look like you've seen a few battles and I bet there's not too many alive who can talk back at you, am I right? After we get off this planet I wouldn't mind hanging around you. I've been itching for a battle and I think you can I could be good for each other. What do you say?"

"I don't trust him," Carth said in my ear. But I disagreed. Something about him told me I could trust him. I don't know if it was some sixth sense but I felt inside that he was telling the truth.

"I think we should find our own way out of here," said Bastila adding her two cents in. I ignored her the best I could.

"You got a deal," I accepted his offer and he gave me a big smile.

"Then what are we doing hanging around this run-down joint. Let's go," he ordered and we followed. Even Bastila seemed rather quiet about this whole incident. She seemed preoccupied with something. I wasn't about to ask her what though because talking to her felt like rubbing up against a ronto's skin.

**A/N: This is just a rough draft. I plan to go back and refine the story so feedback is greatly appreciated :)**


	3. Chapter 3: Leaving Taris

**Chapter 3: Leaving Taris**

_Two Jedis were fighting, their lightsabers hitting each other and every time they made contact a wave of energy struck out but only people who were Force Sensitive would ever feel it. The sheer power behind such a simple looking weapon, it was unimaginable to the untrained. There was a woman and a masked figure. They were fighting._

_I recognized one of them. It was Bastila! Suddenly there was an explosion. Someone fired on the ship. The masked figure fell down to the ground. I felt strange like I didn't belong but I did belong. I felt like I was being pulled in two directions. The woman, Bastila, hovered over the masked stranger. She was doing something, I could feel her energy...the pain...I felt pain...I was being pulled...no...stop...STOP!_

"NO!" I screamed as I woke up again from another nightmare. I looked around my strange surroundings until I got my bearing. This was the Ebon Hawk, Davik's prized ship. We had been successful infiltrating his base of operations. His guards were tough but we had a good team on our side.

At the moment someone came running into the east quarters where my bunk was. "What's wrong?" asked Carth busily looking around for anything dangerous.

I blushed slightly. "Nothing," I said too embarrassed to have a full-length discussion.

"That didn't sound like nothing. Hey, I'm the one that's supposed to be hard to talk to not the other way around," he said attempting to make a joke. The dream bothered me too much though and all I could give him was a lukewarm smile.

"I just had a bad dream, that's all. Nothing important," I tried to explain but it wasn't enough for him. He wanted to know the details of it, so after a bit of hesitation I told him what had happened in my dream.

"You say there was a masked figure? All black? That kind of sounds like Darth Revan. You know Bastila was with the Jedi strike team when they took Revan down. Perhaps that was what you saw. I can't say I know much about the Force. Maybe you should talk to Bastila about it. She would know more about what that means," he said but I must have made a face because he burst out laughing then. "I know, I know. I don't particularly enjoy talking to her either but she is a Jedi, and if anybody knows something it would be her."

I thanked him for the talk and for his concern for me. He just gave me one of his famous smiles and said, "Anytime you need to talk I'm there for you."

"So I have your permission to dig into your past and learn more about you?" I teased.

"Hey, hold on sister, I didn't say that. Whenever _you_ need to talk, not me," he teased back and left.

Back on Taris I had tried talking to him, to get him to tell me about himself and open up. It was like pulling teeth. He was distrustful of me at first, and I think he still is a little. I had tried to ask him why but all he would say was he'd been betrayed before and he wasn't waiting around to be betrayed again. That put me in a sour mood for the rest of the day and I quit trying to ask him anything or to get to know him.

Later that day he had apologized, and I accepted but there was still some tension between us.

_"Why is it so important that you need to know about me?" he asked._

_"Curiosity? Or maybe the fact I'm heavily relying on you to be my ally. How can I trust you not to pull a blaster behind my back if you won't tell me anything about yourself?"_

_"I could ask the same of you."_

_"And here we are back at square one," I said and sighed._

_"Look there are reasons why I don't want to talk about my past, but you're right. You do have a right to know some things but not right now. Let's just focus on getting off the planet then...then maybe we can have another talk," he said although he didn't sound too convincing._

_"Alright. Truce for now then. But I won't let up," I said wagging my finger in his face._

_He laughed. "No, you don't seem the type. But I'm pretty stubborn too. I won't go down easy."_

_"I can be pretty persuasive...when I want to be," I said coyly and left it at that._

After gathering my thoughts and my patience I went over to the west crew quarters where Bastila was staying. She seemed distracted.

"You're hear to talk to me about something, am I right?" said Bastila right as I walked in. I paused for a moment. How did she know? Did she probe my mind?

"I know what you're thinking. I can feel it written on your face. Don't worry. I am not using my Jedi Mind Powers on you right now although it would make things a lot simpler sometimes. It's hard to explain but I felt something was wrong. Did you have the dream too?" she asked me.

"Yes, but how did you know? And what do you mean 'too'?" I asked.

"I felt your consciousness inside my dream last night. I can't say I enjoyed the feeling," she explained. I nodded in agreement. "It was more of a vision really than a dream. A vision of the past when I fought Darth Revan."

"Why would I share your dream or vision? It doesn't make any sense. I'm not a Jedi," I said.

"No, but you are strong in the Force, that much I can tell. As to what the visions mean and why we are sharing them I do not know. The Jedi Council would be best to answer that. We should make for Dantooine. That is where they are. Perhaps there we could get more answers. I'm sorry, I can't tell you much more than that," she said.

I tried probing her with more questions but she refused to answer them saying she didn't have enough wisdom to give me a proper answer. I left feeling even more frustrated than when I came in but at least she wasn't too unpleasant. Now that the excitement of escaping Taris was over she seemed to have calmed down. I could almost tolerate her now, I think.

I went up to the bridge and asked the computer to plot a course to Dantooine. It beeped in acknowledgement. I sat in the captain's chair all alone. The ship had been on auto-pilot before I came in. I wasn't sure what the others were doing. Probably playing Pazaak or eating.

"So you're here too?" said a gruff voice from behind. I continued staring off into space. Canderous sat down in the co-pilot's seat. I knew what he was thinking. The ship was roomy but with the amount of people we had on board it was a little crowded. There wasn't too many places you could go for privacy.

He didn't seem to mind too much though that I was in there with him and we both just sat there enjoying the vast emptiness of space and the quiet solitude. Every once in a while I could hear Zaalbar wailing. Mission was quite the Pazaak player though she never plays for money, just for fun.

She had tried to teach me the game and I think I am catching on. I might just try my skills with a real player someday. It would be a good way to make some quick cash. Better than risking my life in a dueling ring that's for sure.

I kind of like having everyone here though. It felt almost like a family, something that I seem to have no memory of. Of course, I didn't seem to have much of any memory before a certain time period. I wondered if that was strange.

Most likely once we reached Dantooine everyone would probably go their separate ways. What reason would there be to stick together.

Suddenly the ship lurched forward.

"What the hell was that?" I cried out taking the ship out of auto-pilot and into manual drive.

"We got some birds on our tail," remarked Canderous as he flipped on some switches to stabilize the ship.

"I'll go and man the turrets." Just then Carth rushed in. "Thank goodness you're here. Take the stick, I'm going back to the tower." He nodded slowly taking a long glance over at Canderous and myself but I didn't have the time to analyze what that look meant. I rushed past him and up to the gun turret.

There were 5 cruisers behind us and I did my best to quickly snuff them out. I breathed a sigh of relief when all that drama was over. The rest of the flight to Dantooine was relatively smooth except for the silence. Everyone kept mostly to themselves. Bastila was constantly meditating, Canderous was usually polishing his weapons somewhere, and the Twi'lek and the Wookie spent most of the time back in the bunks playing cards or just laying around which left Carth and me up at the bridge most of the time.

I think right before that surprise attack was the only time I've spent alone with Canderous and I still didn't know anything about him. I made up my mind then to try to talk to him. He had a lot of experience, I could see it. Carth was also a bit of a mystery too. I've tried to talk to him several times and each time he gives me a little more information but never enough to satisfy my aching curiosity. Maybe that was why I wanted to be near him.

Whatever the reason both men were equally frustrating at times.

"We're nearing Dantooine," said Carth who was piloting the ship.

From above the planet looked pretty much empty and flat unlike the tall buildings and full landscape of Taris. It was hard to believe the Jedi Council was here but it was a pretty good hiding place I supposed if you thought about it. It was a very unassuming planet with nothing of interest.

I didn't know what to expect when we landed. Bastila went straight away to meet with the Council while the rest of us stayed back with the ship. It wasn't long before she came back. The Council wanted to meet with me, alone.

"I just don't understand why no one else can be there," Carth protested. "I mean I think I have a right to know what's going on...along with everyone else."

"Are you going to miss being my bodyguard?" I teased.

"Bodyguard?" he said. The look on his face was priceless. With a small smile on his face he said, "I don't know about that. You've saved me on numerous occasions, more than I've helped you if I'm being honest with myself. You don't need me."

"I'm not too sure about that," I said but my voice was hardly louder than a whisper and I quickly turned away from the group slightly embarrassed for even saying such a thing.

I started to follow Bastila to the Council Chambers when Carth yelled out, "I want a full report when you get back!"

"Yes, sir!" I said adding a stiff salute and the most phony voice I could muster. The group fell into a light laughter which made me smile. After the horror of the destruction of Taris it was nice to see some smiles.

I just wondered how long these seemingly peaceful times could last and what the Jedi Council had to say about my strange visions.

**A/N: This is just a rough draft. I plan to go back and refine the story so feedback is greatly appreciated :)**


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